St. Augustinegrass plant named &#39;Eclipse&#39;

ABSTRACT

St. Augustinegrass plant Eclipse is a new and distinct variety of perennial St. Augustinegrass cultivar, characterized by its short and narrow leaf blades, fine leaf texture, short internode length and diameter, and superior turf quality and particularly turf density when grown under shade or dense shade. Eclipse is also distinguished by its genetic color and fall and winter color characteristics.

LATIN NAME

Stenotaphrum secundatum

VARIETAL DENOMINATION

Eclipse

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a new and distinct perennial variety of St.Augustinegrass that is well-suited for turfgrass applications. It is ahigh-quality, high-density cultivar well-adapted for warm weatherclimates similar to that found in southern climates where high qualitySt. Augustinegrass grass cultivar varieties have previously not beenavailable. The Latin name of the genus and species of the new cultivardisclosed herein is Stenotaphrum secundatum. This novel hybrid genotypehas been given the varietal denomination ‘Eclipse’ and is a perennial,asexually propagated genotype of St. Augustinegrass, which typicallygrows vigorously well in warm weather climates and spreads throughcreeping stolons that root at the nodes contacting soil with adequatemoisture. Commonly-known varieties of this genus and species includeRaleigh St. Augustine (not patented), Floratam (not patented), B12 (U.S.Plant Pat. No. 16,174 and marketed under the tradename Sapphire™), andSS-100 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,395 and marketed under the tradenamePalmetto™). The designation Eclipse was evaluated under the experimentalname MSA 31 and may also designate this particular plant in commerce. Itis expected that the plant of this invention will be marketed under thesynonym Eclipse as a tradename. This plant is identified interchangeablyby its designation and its experimental name throughout this disclosureand its tables and figures. This high quality novel and distinct varietyof St. Augustinegrass was vegetatively propagated at Starkville, Miss.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The cultivar Eclipse (experimental name MSA 31) is a new and distinctivevariety of St. Augustinegrass characterized by its unique pedigree andvery good shade tolerance and high turf quality. The traits of theinvention are continually maintained when propagated asexually. This newvariety provides an excellent appealing uniform, dense, dark green turfat locations where other St. Augustinegrasses are weakened by excessiveshade and disease injury. Eclipse exhibits other excellent qualities andcharacteristics such as turf density, fine leaf texture, fall and wintercolor, fast spring green up at warm sites, and excellent low seedheadratings compared to other St. Augustinegrass cultivars which allow it tobe further distinguished from other cultivars.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart diagram and graphical illustration of the uniquepedigree of Eclipse showing the crossing of St. Augustinegrass genotypesresulting in the distinctive new cultivar.

FIG. 2 is a color photograph taken on Apr. 24, 2006 at the MississippiState University Department of Plant & Soil Sciences Dorman greenhousesof stolon segments of four (4) St. Augustinegrass cultivars thatcompares and illustrates the distinct morphologies of each segment. Fromleft to right, Floratam with its long leaves and purple internodes isshown on the far left. Next in line to the right is Raleigh with itslong leaves and green/yellow internodes. Next in line to the right isAurora (experimental name MSA 2-3-98) with its small leaves and greeninternodes. Finally on the far right, Eclipse is shown with its smallleaves and dark green internodes.

FIG. 3 is a color photograph taken on Apr. 24, 2006 at the MississippiState University Department of Plant & Soil Sciences Dorman greenhousesof four (4) whole non-mown St. Augustinegrass cultivar plants in growingpots showing, from left to right: Floratam with its longer leaves, tallstature, and purple/red internodes; Raleigh with its longer leaves, tallstature, and green/yellow internodes; Aurora with its smaller leaves,shorter stature, and more green internodes; and Eclipse with its smallleaves, shorter stature, and darker green internodes.

FIG. 4 is a color photograph taken on Oct. 26, 2004 at the MississippiState University Plant Science Research Center in Starkville, Miss.during the 2002 NTEP test showing the turf density of the Eclipse St.Augustinegrass cultivar.

FIG. 5 is a color photograph taken on Oct. 26, 2004 at the MississippiState University Plant Science Research Center in Starkville, Miss.during the 2002 NTEP test showing field plots of six (6) cultivars (1full replication), specifically depicting Raleigh in the leftforeground, Eclipse St. Augustinegrass in the left center, Mercedes inthe left background, Delmar in the right foreground, Floratam in theright center, and Aurora in the right background.

FIG. 6 is a photograph of the unique DNA amplification profile ofEclipse and the DNA profiles of five (5) other St. Augustinegrasscultivars using RAPD primer OPAC20, illustrating that Eclipse is uniqueand different from Sapphire™, Raleigh, Aurora, Palmetto™, and Floratam.

FIG. 7 is a photograph of the unique DNA amplification profile ofEclipse and the DNA profiles of five (5) other St. Augustinegrasscultivars using RAPD primer OPAU1, illustrating that Eclipse is uniqueand different from Sapphire™, Raleigh, Aurora, Palmetto™, and Floratam.

FIG. 8 is a photograph of the unique DNA amplification profile ofEclipse and the DNA profiles of five (5) other St. Augustinegrasscultivars using RAPD primer OPBA9, illustrating that Eclipse is uniqueand different from Sapphire™, Raleigh, Aurora, Palmetto™, and Floratam.

FIG. 9 is a photograph of the unique DNA amplification profile ofEclipse and the DNA profiles of five (5) other St. Augustinegrasscultivars using RAPD primer OPM5, illustrating that Eclipse is uniqueand different from Sapphire™, Raleigh, Aurora, Palmetto™, and Floratam.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

The following is a detailed botanical description of the characteristicsof the new Stenotaphrum secundatum grass variety known as Eclipse(experimental name MSA 31), based upon observations of the plant grownunder conventional greenhouse conditions and in nursery pots and fieldplots at the Mississippi State University (MSU) Mississippi Agriculturaland Forestry Experiment Station in Oktibbeha County, Miss. Colornotations of plant tissues are based upon the Munsell® Color Chart forplant tissues [Munsell Book of Color: Glossy Finish Edition, MunsellColor, Baltimore, Md., 1976; and Munsell Color Charts for Plant Tissues,Munsell Color, Baltimore, Md., 1977]. Color notations are affected bylight quality and fertility and general plant growth. Certaincharacteristics will vary depending on the age of the plants, such thatcharacteristics such as dimensions, sizes, and colors are approximationsor averages since the variety has not been observed under every possibleenvironmental condition. Therefore, the phenotype of the variety maydiffer from the descriptions depending upon environmental variationsincluding, but not limited to, the season, temperatures, day lengths,light direction and quality, and fertilization, as well as otherfactors.

Eclipse is a high quality, high density, perennial, vegetatively(asexually) propagated genotype of St. Augustinegrass. It iswell-adapted for turf applications in southern and warmer locationstypically where Floratam, the most popular St. Augustinegrass cultivar,is used. Eclipse is capable of sustaining high turf quality andexcellent density ratings in shade. The creeping or ascendant stolons ofEclipse are dorsiventrally compressed and root adventitiously at thenodes. Its leaf blade color is dark green and is rated 7.5 GY 4/4 forfield-grown plots and 7.5 GY 4/4 to 4/6 for greenhouse-grown pots, bothratings based on the Munsell® Color Chart for plant tissue. The colorchart match was completed using natural sunlight with no supplementallighting for the Eclipse cultivars in the field-grown plots and thegreenhouse-grown pots, both in the month of May. Eclipse has a greeninternode color that is fairly stable, in contrast to the internodes ofother St. Augustinegrass cultivars that may change to various shades ofpurple with cooler temperatures, such as Floratam in particular. Eclipsetypically has yellow anthers and white stigmas and has an unreducedchromosome number of 18.

The leaf texture of Eclipse is finer than Raleigh and Floratam St.Augustinegrasses. Eclipse has better cold resistance or tolerance thanFloratam but less than Raleigh, typically considered the cold tolerancestandard. Eclipse is recommended for U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA) plant hardiness zones 8 and higher, but not necessarilyrecommended for sites or locations where winterkill of St.Augustinegrasses is a problem.

Unique Pedigree and Origin of Eclipse

Eclipse St. Augustinegrass cultivar resulted from a cross of two diploidSt. Augustinegrass plants selected for their specific superiorqualities. Eclipse resulted from an F1 plant (F1 refers to firstgeneration) cross between Seville St. Augustinegrass (U.S. Plant Pat.No. 4,097, issued Sep. 6, 1977, now expired) and MSA-10, an experimentalcultivar selected for cold tolerance at Mississippi State University.Six (6) plants were produced from this cross. Eclipse was selected overall its siblings for its high turf density and quality. The original,single seed that produced Eclipse was germinated in atemperature-controlled germination chamber. The seedling wastransplanted to a pot grown in a greenhouse and eventually transplantedto a field nursery. From that point in time forward, Eclipse has beenvegetatively propagated and has consistently and completely been stablyreproduced by the aforementioned asexual propagation. FIG. 1 shows thepedigree of Eclipse in a flowchart format. In FIG. 1, Seville is ahighly fertile, semi-dwarf diploid cultivar selected for its highdensity and fine leaf texture but not necessarily for its coldtolerance. ‘MSA-10’ is a Mississippi St. Augustinegrass experimentalcultivar from Mississippi State University (MSU) selected for coldtolerance and winter survival. The unique origin of Eclipse showndistinguishes it from other commercially produced St. Augustinegrassvarieties in that most of such varieties are of unknown origin. Thepedigree of Eclipse is unique in that its parents are known. As aresult, Eclipse has higher turf quality and higher turf density,particularly in shade and in dense tree shade, than either of itsancestors.

Morphology of Eclipse

The morphological characteristics of Eclipse also distinguish it fromother St. Augustinegrass cultivars. To measure morphologicalcharacteristics, five (5) four-inch plugs of each of four (4) St.Augustinegrass cultivars were harvested from established field plots atStarkville, Miss. in March, 2006. These twenty (20) plugs were washedfree of soil and transplanted to six-inch pots filled with commercialpotting mix. These twenty (20) plugs were grown non-mown in a greenhousefor six (6) weeks before measurements were initiated. All stolons thatgrew out from the original plug were systematically evaluated, beginningwith the youngest visible internode and proceeding backward toward thepot. Measurements included diameter and length of all internodes andwidth and length of all leaf blades.

The non-mown leaf blade length of Eclipse was significantly shorter thanthat of cultivars Floratam and Raleigh but similar to MSU experimentalcultivar MSA 2-3-98 (Aurora) (Table 1 and FIG. 2). FIG. 2 shows stolonsof four (4) St. Augustinegrass cultivars that illustrate different orcomparative morphologies, from left to right: Floratam, Raleigh, Aurora,and Eclipse. FIG. 3 shows the same four cultivars as whole non-mownplants in growing pots and shows the smaller morphology of Eclipse. FIG.4 shows a close-up photograph of the 2002 NTEP test plot of Eclipse and,specifically, Eclipse's excellent density characteristics. The leafblade width of Eclipse was significantly narrower than Floratam andRaleigh and not significantly wider than Aurora. The internode length ofEclipse was significantly shorter than Floratam, Raleigh, and Aurora.The internode diameter of Eclipse was significantly smaller thanFloratam, Raleigh, and Aurora. (Table 1). Eclipse also differs visuallyfrom other cultivars in other respects. For example, Eclipse's yellowanthers and white stigmas are similar to certain cultivars, such as thewhite stigmas of Raleigh and Palmetto™, but different from Palmetto™'sand Floratam's orange-yellow anthers, Floratam's purple stigmas, andSapphire™'s gray-orange anthers and purple-violet stigmas.

TABLE 1 Morphology measurements of St. Augustinegrass cultivars grown innon-mown pots. Leaf Blade Leaf Blade Internode Internode Cultivar Lengthmm Width mm Length mm Diameter mm Floratam 63.9 8.9 62.2 3.54 Raleigh34.3 7.6 67.1 3.11 Aurora 27.9 6.6 53.0 2.98 Eclipse 27.9 6.5 49.0 2.48LSD (0.05) 4.1 0.3 2.9 0.06

Turf Performance Evaluations

Turfgrass performance evaluation ratings in multiple tests likewisedistinguish Eclipse from other St. Augustinegrass varieties.

University of Florida Test

Eclipse was first evaluated under the experimental name MSA 31 at theUniversity of Florida in Gainesville, Fla. in the years 1995-1998 alongwith eleven (11) other St. Augustinegrass cultivars. Grasses werereplicated four (4) times in a randomized complete block design. Asshown in Tables 2 through 5, the ‘MSA’ cultivars were Mississippi St.Augustinegrass experimental cultivars from MSU. The ‘FHSA’ cultivarswere Florida Hawaii St. Augustinegrass experimental cultivars collectedin Hawaii and tested at the University of Florida. The ‘FL’ cultivar wasa University of Florida experimental cultivar. The establishment ofEclipse was not as good as Raleigh, but generally better than Palmettoand Floratam, and significantly better than Seville in this test (Table2). Eclipse received consistently high turf quality ratings (Table 3)and, in 1996, the turf quality rating of Eclipse was significantlyhigher than any other cultivar in the test. Turf density was rated fortwo years. Eclipse received higher turf density ratings than Floratam,Raleigh, Palmetto, and Seville in each year and, in fact, rated higherthan all twelve cultivars tested in both years (Table 4). In 1998, thistest rated leaf texture and seedhead production (Table 5). The leaftexture of Eclipse was finer than all but two other cultivars andsignificantly finer than Raleigh and Floratam. Seedhead production ofEclipse was less than all but one other cultivar and significantly lessthan the two MSA cultivars and Raleigh and Palmetto.

TABLE 2 Average percent ground cover estimates of St. Augustinegrassselections during establishment at Gainesville, FL. 1995 1996 CultivarSept. Oct. Nov. April May June July Aug. Sept. Raleigh 26 31 33 41 52 8192 93 97 FL- 28 29 31 42 51 74 90 93 95 1997-6 MSA- 24 27 29 41 46 73 8588 96 11 Eclipse 22 23 25 32 42 73 84 89 95 Pal- 19 20 21 34 41 69 83 8793 metto MSA- 15 18 23 35 42 69 82 87 91 10 Flora- 12 17 21 34 42 64 8086 92 tam Flora- 12 16 21 31 40 68 81 86 92 lawn Flora- 9 14 18 30 36 6072 82 91 tine FHSA- 9 12 15 27 34 57 73 81 88 115 FSHA- 8 10 13 24 31 5571 81 91 117 Seville 5 5 5 12 16 34 50 61 66 MSD 3 3 4 5 6 10 8 5 5(0.05)

TABLE 3 Turf quality ratings of St. Augustinegrass selections atGainesville, FL. (1 = poor, 9 = excellent) Cultivar 1996 1997 1998Eclipse 7.6 5.6 5.4 FSHA-117 6.3 5.5 5.6 MSA-l1 6.3 5.4 5.6 Floratine6.2 6.0 5.9 Floratam 6.2 5.7 5.3 FHSA-115 6.1 5.5 5.4 FL-1997-6 5.9 6.06.9 Floralawn 5.9 5.5 5.1 Raleigh 5.4 4.6 4.6 Palmetto 5.2 5.2 5.5MSA-10 5.1 4.7 4.8 Seville 3.8 4.3 5.3 MSD (0.05) 1.0 1.0 0.9

TABLE 4 Turf density ratings of St. Augustinegrass selections atGainesville, FL. (1 = low, 9 = high) Cultivar 1996 1997 Eclipse 8.6 7.3FL- 1997-6 7.3 7.2 MSA-11 7.2 7.1 FSHA-1 17 7.1 6.5 Floratine 6.9 6.5FHSA-1 15 6.8 6.2 Floratam 6.5 6.1 Palmetto 6.4 6.6 Raleigh 6.4 6.1Floralawn 6.4 5.8 MSA-10 6.2 6.2 Seville 5.3 5.7 MSD (0.05) 0.8 0.7

TABLE 5 Leaf texture and seedhead production of St. Augustinegrassselections at Gainesville, FL in 1998. (Texture: 1 = coarse, 9 = fine)Cultivar Leaf texture Seedheads⁺ MSA-10 6.8 a* 5.0 a Eclipse 6.0 ab 1.1fg FL-1997-6 6.0 ab 1.9 de MSA-11 5.8 bc 4.1 bc Seville 5.5 bc 1.0 gPalmetto 5.2 bcd 3.5 c Raleigh 5.0 cd 4.4 ab FHSA-115 5.0 cd 1.5 efgFloratine 4.5 de 2.4 d FSHA-117 3.8 ef 1.8 def Floratam 3.0 f 1.6 efgFloralawn 3.0 f 1.5 efg ⁺Seedheads visually rated on a 1 to 5 scalewhere 1 = no seedheads and 5 = most seedheads. Values are average of 8observations. *Means within columns with same letter are notsignificantly different (P = 0.05) using the Waller-Duncan k-ratiot-test.

Lawrenceburg, Tenn. Test

A St. Augustinegrass cultivar trial was conducted at the Lawrence CountyExtension Center at Lawrenceburg, Tenn. in the years 2002-2005. Eight(8) St. Augustinegrass cultivars, including Raleigh, Floratam, Eclipse,and other experimental cultivars, were planted in a randomized completeblock design with three (3) replications. Eclipse received high turfquality ratings in the Lawrenceburg test (Table 6). The cold toleranceof Eclipse shows lower percent green plot cover ratings in the spring,although its percent green plot cover rating in the fall of 2003 wasexceptionally high (Table 7). Due to the severe winter of 2004-05, alltest cultivars suffered winter injury as shown in the May 12, 2005measurements of Table 7. Eclipse displayed good color and good turfdensity and color with moderate symptoms of gray leaf spot (Table 8).Eclipse demonstrated the best color rating of all cultivars tested and abetter turf density rating than all but two of the cultivars in thetest.

TABLE 6 Turf quality of St. Augustinegrass test at Lawrenceburg, TN. (1= poor, 9 = excellent) Cultivar 2002 2003 2004 2005 2002-2005 Aurora 7.08.0 7.7 7.3 7.5 MSA-10-4-98 6.7 7.3 7.6 6.0 6.9 Eclipse 7.0 8.0 6.4 5.36.7 Raleigh 6.0 7.3 6.5 5.7 6.4 MSA-8-6-98 5.3 5.7 6.0 6.7 5.9MSA-5-5-98 5.3 4.7 5.3 5.3 5.2 Floratam 4.7 4.3 4.2 2.3 3.9 MSA-13-6-984.3 2.3 3.5 4.3 3.6 LSD (0.05) 1.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 1.6

TABLE 7 Percent green plot cover of St. Augustinegrass test atLawrenceburg, TN. May 18, Nov. 13, May 5, May 12, Aug. 18, Cultivar 20032003 2004 2005 2005 Aurora 95.0 100.0 70.0 25.0 91.7 Raleigh 86.7 100.060.0 25.0 81.7 MSA-10-4-98 71.7 95.0 50.0 6.7 81.7 MSA-8-6-98 70.0 66.756.7 38.3 76.7 MSA-13-6-98 50.3 16.7 43.3 21.7 51.7 MSA-5-5-98 46.7 56.743.3 35.0 68.3 Eclipse 21.7 98.3 16.7 4.7 53.3 Floratam 3.7 53.3 3.3 2.720.0 LSD (0.05) 35.7 32.2 27.1 20.3 33.9

TABLE 8 Color, density, and gray leaf spot ratings of the St.Augustinegrass test at Lawrenceburg, TN rated on Aug. 18, 2005. CultivarColor Density Gray Leaf Spot^(a) Aurora 7.3 7.0 8.0 Eclipse 7.7 6.0 5.0MSA-10-4-98 7.0 6.0 6.7 Raleigh 6.7 5.7 7.0 MSA-8-6-98 6.0 5.7 6.7Floratam 5.3 4.0 2.0 MSA-5-5-98 6.0 3.7 5.7 MSA-13-6-98 4.3 3.0 4.3 LSD(0.05) NS 2.3 2.4 ^(a)Gray leaf spot rating scale: 1 = severe, 9 = nodisease Color scale: 1 = light green, 9 = dark green Density scale: 1 =low, 9 = high

National Turfgrass Evaluation Program Test

Eclipse was entered under the experimental name MSA 31 into the 2002National St. Augustinegrass Test coordinated by the National TurfgrassEvaluation Program (NTEP). This multiple-environment testing providedthe best available and the most definitive data on the performancecharacteristics of Eclipse compared to other commercial and experimentalSt. Augustinegrass cultivars. The nine (9) test sites included Pomona,Calif.; Jay, Fla.; Griffin, Ga.; Savannah, Ga.; Calhoun, La.;Mississippi State (Starkville), Miss.; Lane, Okla.; Florence, S.C.; andCollege Station, Tex. Each site test included each variety listed inTables 9 through 29. The specified experimental design at each site wasa randomized complete block with three (3) replications of each varietytested. All cultivars were established by planting eighteen (18) 3-inchplugs in each plot. At each site, Eclipse was compared to Aurora,Delmar, Floratam, Mercedes, and Raleigh. FIG. 5 shows field plots ofEclipse and five other cultivars in the 2002 NTEP test at the Starkvillesite.

Establishment rate was determined by estimating percent plot coverage atmonthly intervals and dividing by the number of ratings to arrive at amean. Table 9 represents the establishment rates of the six (6)cultivars at six (6) of the nine (9) test locations. Eclipse establishedslower from plugs than Floratam at each location due most likely toEclipse's significantly shorter internode length.

Tests were established at three (3) locations (Calhoun, La.; Starkville,Miss.; and Lane, Okla.) and data was submitted on turfgrass qualityratings in full sun in 2002 (Table 10). Eclipse received the highestturfgrass quality rating of all cultivars except one at Calhoun and thebest turfgrass quality rating at Lane, both in full sun. Its turfgrassquality ratings were significantly higher than Floratam at all threesites and significantly higher than Raleigh at Calhoun and Lane. Othersites were subsequently established and data was reported beginning in2003 (Table 11). When considered across eight (8) sites where thecultivars were grown in full sun, Eclipse received a 4-year averageturfgrass quality rating that was slightly higher than Raleigh,Floratam, and Delmar and not significantly lower than Aurora andMercedes. As Table 11 shows, Eclipse ranked the highest in turfgrassquality at Pomona.

A dense shade site was planted at Savannah, Ga. in 2002 and turfgrassquality ratings data began to be reported early in 2003 (Table 12).Eclipse consistently ranked at or near the top for turfgrass qualityunder dense shade at this site, ranking the best for 2003, 2004, and2006 and better than all but one cultivar for 2005. Eclipse had thehighest mean turfgrass quality rating under dense shade for 2003-2006.

The exceptional turfgrass quality of Eclipse under dense shade issignificant, particularly since the effects of shade generally causelower turf density. As shown in Table 13, Eclipse maintainedexceptionally high average turfgrass density ratings under dense shadeat this site during both the summer and fall seasons.

Five (5) sites provided leaf texture ratings of St. Augustinegrasscultivars from 2003 to 2006 (Table 14). Eclipse was rated consistentlyfine textured at each site and was rated as having the finest leaftexture at Pomona from 2003 to 2005. When averaged across all five (5)sites over four (4) years, Eclipse ranked finer than all other cultivarstested.

Genetic color ratings should generally be conducted when turfgrass isactively growing and is not under stress in order to reflect theinherent color of the cultivar. Genetic color in this test was rated atseven (7) sites during 2003-2006. When averaged across all sites, thegenetic color rating of Eclipse ranked in the middle and was notsignificantly different from the other cultivars, although it ranked ashaving one of the three best color ratings at the Pomona site (Table15). Fall and winter color ratings are used to assess color retentionduring the fall and winter months, respectively. Table 16 and Table 17show high fall and winter color retention of Eclipse at sites that didnot experience much frost. The frost tolerance of Eclipse was lower atsome test locations (Table 18).

Similar to the Lawrenceburg, Tenn. test evaluation data, Eclipsesuffered winter injury at colder locations during the NTEP test. Percentwinter kill estimates of Eclipse were high at the Lane and Florencesites (Table 19). Spring green-up of St. Augustinegrasses is affected bythe amount of low-temperature injury in the winter. Eclipse was slowerto green-up in the spring than some cultivars at colder test sites,including Griffin, Starkville, Lane, and Florence, but was the fastestor one of the fastest to green-up at warmer sites such as Pomona, Jay,and College Station (Table 20). Low temperatures also affected estimatesof percent living ground cover in spring (Table 21). Eclipse displayedlower coverage in spring at the colder sites.

Eclipse was less susceptible than four (4) of the six (6) cultivars towarm temperature brown patch disease (Rhizoctonia solani) at theFlorence and College Station sites (Table 22) and less susceptible thanall other cultivars to cool temperature brown patch disease (Rhizoctoniacerealis) at the Florence site (Table 23). Gray leaf spot was not assevere on Eclipse as on other cultivars at test sites in Florida,Mississippi, and Oklahoma (Table 24). Eclipse was more susceptible thanRaleigh and Floratam to take-all patch (Gaumanomyces graminis) at theLane site in 2004 (Table 25).

The production of seedheads (inflorescence) in turf is undesirable.Seedhead production of the cultivars in the NTEP test was measured atthe Lane site (Table 26) and the Starkville site (Table 27). At bothsites, Eclipse produced fewer seedheads than both Raleigh and Delmar.

The horizontal spread rating of the St. Augustinegrass cultivars wasrated at the Lane site in 2004 (Table 28). The horizontal spread ofEclipse was rated significantly slower than Floratam and, as withestablishment rate, was likely due to the shorter internode length ofEclipse. Once established, however, Eclipse may require less frequentedging around sidewalks and beds.

Chinch bug (Blissus insularis) populations can be devastating on St.Augustinegrass turf. Floratam St. Augustinegrass generally has a highresistance to this small insect pest. Chinch bugs were counted at theNTEP St. Augustinegrass test at the Griffin site in 2006 (Table 29).Numbers of chinch bugs for Eclipse were significantly higher thanFloratam but significantly lower than Raleigh.

TABLE 9 Establishment rate of cultivars in the 2002 National St.Augustinegrass Test. College Stark- Calhoun, Station, ville, Pomona,Jay, Lane, Cultivar LA TX MS CA FL OK Floratam 83.3% 78.3% 81.6% 92.6%41.7% 92.2% Raleigh 63.3 60.0 81.9 88.1 17.2 77.6 Aurora 71.7 36.7 73.174.7 41.7 85.2 Mercedes 73.3 48.3 76.7 81.0 15.0 73.9 Eclipse 70.0 28.373.3 78.1 13.0 84.7 Delinar 46.7 36.7 69.2 79.6 12.8 63.3 LSD 16.6 21.47.9 17.0 5.8 6.5

TABLE 10 Turfgrass quality ratings from the 2002 National St.Augustinegrass Test established at 3 U.S. locations in full sun. (2002Data: 1 = poor, 9 = excellent) Calhoun, Starkville, Lane, Cultivar LA MSOK Eclipse 8.0 6.4 8.0 Aurora 8.0 6.9 7.5 Mercedes 7.7 6.6 5.7 Raleigh7.0 6.3 5.7 Floratam 6.0 5.4 7.3 Delmar 6.3 6.2 4.5 LSD 0.8 0.3 0.5

TABLE 11 Turfgrass quality ratings from the 2002 National St.Augustinegrass Test grown at 8 U.S. locations in full sun. (1 = poor, 9= excellent) Ponoma, Jay, Griffin, Calhoun, Starkville, Lane, Florence,College Station, CA FL GA LA MS OK SC TX Cultivar 2003-2006 2003-20062004-2006 2003-2006 2003-2006 2003-2006 2003-2006 2003-2004 Mean Aurora6.2 5.4 6.8 6.8 7.5 6.1 6.1 5.0 6.3 Mercedes 6.4 5.9 7.5 6.8 7.1 5.3 6.05.3 6.3 Eclipse 6.6 5.4 6.8 6.8 6.4 5.1 5.5 4.8 6.0 Raleigh 5.8 5.2 6.66.6 6.5 6.0 5.4 4.9 5.9 Floratam 6.1 6.1 6.3 6.3 4.5 6.6 5.1 5.8 5.8Delmar 5.8 4.8 7.0 6.4 6.3 5.8 5.2 4.6 5.8 LSD 1.0 1.1 1.1 0.6 0.4 1.30.9 0.8 0.4

TABLE 12 Turfgrass quality ratings from the 2002 National St.Augustinegrass Test grown under dense shade at Savannah, GA. (1 = poor,9 = excellent) Cultivar 2003 2004 2005 2006 Mean Eclipse 7.2 7.6 7.6 6.67.2 Raleigh 6.6 7.5 6.8 6.2 6.7 Aurora 6.3 7.4 7.8 5.7 6.6 Mercedes 6.06.9 6.8 5.8 6.4 Delmar 5.5 7.1 6.8 6.0 6.3 Floratam 4.7 5.5 5.3 4.5 5.0LSD 0.9 0.7 1.1 1.6 0.6

TABLE 13 Density ratings from the 2002 National St. Augustinegrass Testgrown under dense shade at Savannah, GA. (1 = low, 9 = high) Springdensity Summer density Fall density Cultivar 2004-06 2004-06 2004-05Eclipse 6.2 7.0 7.2 Aurora 6.7 6.8 7.3 Raleigh 6.8 6.2 5.8 Mercedes 5.95.8 5.8 Delmar 5.6 6.2 6.3 Floratam 3.3 4.2 4.5 LSD 1.7 1.1 1.5

TABLE 14 Leaf texture ratings from the 2002 National St. AugustinegrassTest. (1 = coarse, 9 = fine) Lane, College Ponoma, Starkville, OKFlorence, Station, CA MS 2004- SC TX Cultivar 2003-2005 2003-2006 20062003-2005 2003 Mean Eclipse 5.4 7.8 5.7 2.0 6.0 5.6 Aurora 5.0 6.8 5.42.0 5.7 5.1 Mercedes 5.0 6.8 5.7 1.7 6.0 5.1 Raleigh 4.9 5.8 5.4 1.3 5.04.7 Delmar 4.8 5.9 4.4 1.0 5.7 4.4 Floratam 3.9 4.4 4.7 1.7 4.0 4.0 LSD1.6 0.4 0.7 0.0 0.5 0.5

TABLE 15 Genetic color ratings from the 2002 National St. AugustinegrassTest. (1 = light green, 9 = dark green) Ponoma, Jay, Griffin,Starkville, Lane, Florence, College Station, CA FL GA MS OK SC TXCultivar 2003-2006 2003-2006 2004-2006 2003-2006 2003-2005 3003-20052003 Mean Aurora 5.8 5.9 7.4 7.6 7.2 6.3 4.7 6.5 Mercedes 6.5 6.2 7.97.1 5.9 6.0 4.7 6.5 Delmar 6.3 5.0 7.7 7.2 7.4 6.2 5.0 6.5 Eclipse 6.55.8 7.8 7.4 6.6 5.3 4.7 6.4 Raleigh 5.9 5.2 7.6 6.8 6.3 5.8 4.7 6.1Floratam 6.5 6.1 6.7 7.0 5.1 5.1 6.0 6.1 LSD 1.6 1.0 1.1 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.80.4

TABLE 16 Fall Color (November) ratings from the 2002 National St.Augustinegrass Test. (1 = brown, 9 = completely green) Lane, Ponoma,Jay, Griffin, OK Florence, CA FL GA 2003- SC Cultivar 2003-20052003-2005 2004 2004 2004 Mean Eclipse 5.7 4.3 5.3 7.2 6.0 5.5 Floratam4.9 5.0 4.3 7.7 5.0 5.4 Delmar 5.2 4.0 6.3 6.7 5.0 5.2 Mercedes 5.1 4.46.0 5.3 5.3 5.0 Aurora 4.7 4.2 5.3 5.8 4.7 4.8 Raleigh 4.2 4.2 5.3 4.74.7 4.5 LSD 1.2 1.0 1.1 1.7 2.3 0.7

TABLE 17 Winter color ratings from the 2002 National St. AugustinegrassTest. (1 = brown, 9 = completely green) Pomona, Jay, College Station, CAFL TX Cultivar 2005 2005 2003 Mean Eclipse 5.3 2.3 4.7 4.3 Floratam 5.33.0 3.3 3.8 Mercedes 5.3 3.0 3.0 3.6 Aurora 4.7 2.0 3.3 3.3 Raleigh 4.73.0 2.7 3.3 Delmar 4.7 2.3 2.3 2.9 LSD 1.7 1.3 1.4 1.2

TABLE 18 Frost tolerance ratings from the 2002 National St.Augustinegrass Test. (1 = brown, 9 = completely green) Griffin,Starkyille, Lane, GA MS OK Cultivar 2004 2005-2006 2003-2006 Mean Aurora3.3 7.2 6.3 6.2 Mercedes 2.3 7.0 6.4 6.0 Raleigh 4.0 6.5 5.7 5.6 Eclipse2.3 5.0 5.9 5.3 Delmar 2.3 5.0 5.9 5.1 Floratam 6.7 3.2 4.3 4.3 LSD 2.41.1 1.3 1.0

TABLE 19 Percent winterkill estimates from the 2002 National St.Augustinegrass Test. Lane, Florence, OK SC Cultivar 2003-2006 2003 MeanEclipse 57.1 43.3 60.4 Floratam 55.0 70.0 58.3 Mercedes 40.8 6.7 39.2Aurora 39.2 2.3 38.6 Delmar 36.3 16.7 36.4 Raleigh 33.8 11.7 34.2 LSD17.4 14.9 17.7

TABLE 20 Spring green-up ratings from the 2002 National St.Augustinegrass Test during 2003-2006. (1 = brown, 9 = completely green)Ponoma, Jay, Griffin, Calhoun, Starkville, Lane, Florence, CollegeStation, CA FL GA LA MS OK SC TC Cultivar 2004-2005 2003-2005 20052003-2004 2003-2006 2003-2006 2003-2005 2004 Mean Mercedes 7.2 4.6 4.36.2 5.6 4.1 3.7 2.7 4.8 Aurora 7.0 4.1 5.0 6.0 6.2 3.1 3.8 2.7 4.7Delmar 5.7 4.8 4.7 6.2 4.3 4.5 3.7 3.3 4.5 Raleigh 6.3 4.8 4.3 6.0 5.03.3 3.0 2.0 4.5 Eclipse 7.8 5.4 2.0 5.2 3.1 2.2 2.9 4.0 3.7 Floratam 6.25.1 2.0 6.0 1.9 2.6 2.2 4.0 3.5 LSD 1.7 1.1 1.5 1.2 1.0 1.1 0.9 0.7 0.6

TABLE 21 Percent living ground cover in spring from the 2002 NationalSt. Augustinegrass Test. Pomona, Calhoun, Starkville, Lane, Florence,College Station, CA LA MS OK SC TX Cultivar 2004-2005 2003 2003-20062003-2006 2003 2003-2004 Mean Raleigh 96.8% 76.7% 85.8% 63.2% 5.0% 84.7%74.1% Mercedes 94.3 80.0 89.4 58.3 11.0 83.0 73.4 Aurora 90.2 78.3 93.160.4 16.0 78.7 72.9 Delmar 87.3 70.0 76.7 58.8 15.7 67.3 66.5 Eclipse92.8 75.0 57.9 41.0 4.7 71.3 56.4 Floratam 94.5 75.0 37.9 42.3 1.7 92.055.5 LSD 10.3 7.1 11.8 17.4 7.9 19.6 9.7

TABLE 22 Warm temperature brown patch disease (Rhizoctonia solani)rating^(a) from the 2002 National St. Augustinegrass Test. Florence, SCCollege Station, TX Cultivar 2004 2003-2004 Mean Floratam 8.3 7.8 8.3Eclipse 8.3 7.8 8.2 Aurora 6.7 7.2 7.3 Mercedes 6.3 7.0 6.7 Raleigh 4.35.8 5.6 Delmar 5.0 5.3 4.8 LSD 3.3 4.2 3.0 ^(a)Disease rating, 1 =severe, 9 = nodisease

TABLE 23 Cool temperature brown patch disease (Rhizoctonia cerealis)rating^(a) from the 2002 National St. Augustinegrass Test. Florence, SCCultivar 2004-2005 Eclipse 7.5 Floratam 6.8 Delmar 6.3 Aurora 5.8Mercedes 5.2 Raleigh 3.7 LSD 2.4 ^(a)Disease rating, 1 = severe, 9 = nodisease

TABLE 24 Gray leaf spot ratings from the 2002 National St.Augustinegrass Test. Jay, FL Starkville, MS Lane, OK 2003 2005 2003 MeanEclipse 8.0 6.7 8.0 7.3 Aurora 8.0 4.3 5.7 7.1 Delmar 6.7 6.7 6.0 6.5Raleigh 4.0 7.7 6.3 6.4 Mercedes 4.0 7.0 6.3 6.1 Floratam 6.7 4.0 8.35.8 LSD 2.1 1.0 1.0 1.1 Gray leaf spot rating scale: 1 = severe, 9 = nodisease

TABLE 25 Take-all patch rating at Lane, OK in 2004. Lane, OK Cultivar2004 Floratam 7.3 Aurora 7.0 Delmar 6.0 Raleigh 5.7 Eclipse 4.3 Mercedes4.0 LSD 0.9 ^(a)Disease rating, 1 = severe, 9 = no disease

TABLE 26 Seedhead rating of St. Augustinegrass cultivars at Lane, OK.Cultivar 2003 2004 2005 2006 Mean Eclipse 6.0 7.3 9.0 6.3 7.2 Mercedes6.7 7.0 6.0 6.0 6.4 Aurora 4.3 5.3 6.7 8.7 6.3 Floratam 8.7 5.7 4.7 4.35.8 Raleigh 4.7 4.0 4.0 5.7 4.6 Delmar 4.3 2.7 3.3 6.7 4.3 LSD 1.1 1.21.5 2.9 1.7 Seedhead rating: 9 = no seedheads

TABLE 27 Seedhead rating of St. Augustinegrass cultivars at Starkville,MS. Starkville, MS Cultivar 2003 Mercedes 8.0 Eclipse 7.7 Floratam 7.7Aurora 7.3 Delmar 6.0 Raleigh 3.3 LSD 1.0 Seedhead rating: 9 = noseedheads

TABLE 28 Horizontal spread rating of St. Augustinegrass cultivars. Lane,OK Cultivar 2004 Floratam 6.3 Mercedes 4.7 Aurora 4.3 Raleigh 4.3 Delmar3.3 Eclipse 3.3 LSD 2.1 Spread rating: 1 = slow, 9 = fast

TABLE 29 Chinch bug counts on St. Augustinegrass cultivars at Griffin,GA in 2006. August August December December Cultivar adult nymph adultnymph Mean Raleigh 70.7 13.3 65.7 151.7 75.3 Aurora 18.0 10.0 15.7 52.324.0 Eclipse 25.7 6.7 6.0 24.3 15.7 Mercedes 20.0 8.3 0.0 8.3 9.2 Delmar12.7 0.7 0.0 5.3 4.7 Floratam 7.0 0.3 0.0 0.3 1.9 LSD 23.5 11.8 47.347.9 19.8

SUMMARY

Observations and analyses on a comparative basis have identifiedspecific characteristics of Eclipse that distinguish it from other St.Augustinegrasses including Raleigh, Floratam, Mercedes, Delmar, andvarious experimental cultivars. Eclipse has excellent turfgrass qualityratings and, particularly, superior quality and density ratings in shadeand dense shade that allow it to be produced, marketed, andcommercialized as a high quality St. Augustinegrass capable of excellentquality and density ratings in shade in warn climates and in UnitedStates Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant hardiness zones 8 andhigher. Its superior leaf texture, genetic color, and fall and wintercolor ratings provide additional distinctions and advantages compared toother St. Augustinegrass cultivars.

As will be apparent to those skilled in horticultural science, the newand distinct perennial St. Augustinegrass variety described herein mayvary in minor detail due to climatic, soil, and cultural conditionsunder which the variety may be grown, as well as the stage of growth.

Comparative DNA Analysis of Eclipse with Other Turfgrasses

Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used to generateDNA fingerprints that uniquely identified Eclipse from other St.Augustinegrasses. All tests and analyses were performed by Juliet D.Tang, Life Sciences and Biotechnology Institute (Mississippi StateUniversity).

Plants

St. Augustinegrasses were obtained from Wayne Philley at MississippiState University. Six turfgrass varieties were tested: Sapphire™,Raleigh, Aurora, Eclipse, Palmetto™, and Floratam. Grasses were grownindividually in pots in the Institute greenhouse. One block consisted ofeach plant variety and each block was replicated four (4) times.

DNA Isolation

DNA was extracted from young leaf blades according to the DNeasy PlantMini Kit Protocol sold by Qiagen Inc. (Valencia, Calif.). Plant tissue(100 mg) was pulverized in liquid N2 using a mortar and pestle. Negativecontrols were subjected to the same procedures, except no plant tissuewas added. After extraction, the DNA concentration was determined andall samples were diluted to the same working concentration.

Amplification Primers

Eighty-five ten-mer primers were purchased from Operon Biotechnologies,Inc. (Huntsville, Ala.). Forty-four primers (OPA9, OPAA15, OPAA16,OPAB2, OPAC2, OPAC3, OPAC10, OPAC11, OPAC20, OPAE6, OPAF7, OPAG17,OPAH20, OPAI18, OPAN6, OPAO5, OPAP15, OPAT13, OPAU1, OPAV1, OPAX9, OPB4,OPB9, OPB10, OPB12, OPB15, OPB17, OPBA9, OPBE8, OPBE17, OPBG2, OPC4,OPC8, OPC11, OPC12, OPE2, OPH4, OPJ10, OPK4, OPM5, OPP15, OPP19, OPW15,OPY20) produced DNA fragments that were polymorphic, i.e. band(s)present in one variety and absent in another when tested against oneblock of grass DNA. Fifteen of these primers (OPA9, OPAC2, OPAC20,OPAH20, OPAI18, OPAU1, OPAX9, OPB4, OPB9, OPB12, OPBA9, OPC4, OPE2,OPH4, OPM5) were then tested against all four blocks of grass DNA.Primers OPAC20, OPAU1, OPBA9, and OPM5 produced consistent and uniquefingerprints for Eclipse across all four replicates. An examplefingerprint for each primer is exhibited in FIGS. 6 through 9,respectively.

Amplification

Primer-specific amplification of DNA was performed using Takara Taq DNApolymerase (Takara Mirus Bio, Madison, Wis.), the manufacturer'ssupplied buffer, and 2.5 mM MgCl₂ in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR).The hot start method of preheating the DNA (25 ng) five minutes at 95deg Celsius (C.) prior to the addition of the enzyme-primer master mixwas employed. All amplifications were placed in a MyCycler thermalcycler (Bio-Rad, Hercules, Calif.) and run with the following program:

1. 2min at 95 deg C.

2. 30 s at 94 deg C.

3. 1 min at 35 deg C.

4. 2 min at 72 deg C.

5. return to step 2 and cycle 45 times

6. 20 min hold at 60 deg C.

7. infinite hold at 4 deg C.

Gel Electrophoresis and Photography

DNA fragments produced by PCR were separated on a 1.5% agarose gel inTris-acetate-EDTA buffer, then stained with EtBr₂, and visualized usinga Versadoc 3000 (Bio-Rad, Hercules, Calif.). The lanes of the gelphotographs, shown in FIGS. 6 through 9, correspond to (from left toright): Lane 1=Sapphire™, Lane 2=Raleigh, Lane 3=Aurora, Lane 4=Eclipse,Lane 5=Palmetto™, Lane 6=Floratam, Lane 7=negative control, and Lane8=100 bp PCR molecular ruler size marker (Bio-Rad, Hercules, Calif.).

RAPD Analysis

For RAPD analysis, bands in the gel images were detected, matched, andsized using QuantityOne software, (Bio-Rad, Hercules, Calif.). Allsamples could be distinguished from the others using one or more of theten-mer primers. As shown in FIG. 6, Eclipse (Lane 4) shows the presenceof the 963 bp band and the absence of the 810 bp band when tested withprimer OPAC20. These two bands differentiate Eclipse from the other fivecultivars tested. As shown in FIG. 7, Eclipse (Lane 4) shows absences ofthe 904 bp and the 550 bp bands when tested with primer OPAU1. These twobands differentiate Eclipse from the other five cultivars tested. Asshown in FIG. 8, Eclipse shows the absence of the 602 bp band whentested with primer OPBA9. This band differentiates Eclipse from theother five cultivars tested. As shown in FIG. 9, Eclipse shows absencesof the 1971 bp and the 1533 bp bands when tested with primer OPM5. Thesebands differentiate Eclipse from the other five cultivars tested.

1. A new and distinct variety of perennial St. Augustinegrass plant,substantially as herein illustrated and described.